


Here With Me

by Scandalmuss



Category: Bang&Burn (Webcomic)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Light Angst, M/M, drug lords have EMOTIONS, estranged mom feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-02
Updated: 2018-09-02
Packaged: 2019-07-05 22:07:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15872658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scandalmuss/pseuds/Scandalmuss
Summary: They've been together long enough that Daegan as Rowan, feels comfortable enough to make kind of a big gesture for his boyfriend. He's just not sure about how it will be received.





	Here With Me

**Author's Note:**

> Hello again!  
> In this fic, Daegan and Adrian have been together for maybe a few months and whenever it's Adrian interacting with Daegan, I used his alias' name (Rowan) so hopefully that's not too confusing!

The soup has just started to boil, the sounds of the bubbling liquid fill the massive kitchen. Daegan smiles at the colourful pot of soup; it’s not the  _ prettiest _ thing, some of the turnips are in bigger chunks than the carrots, but the canned beans and the rice make everything else look uniform. The delicious smells wafting out of the pot convinces him that it doesn’t matter anyway. But his stomach still flips a little. Sure, it’s just a meal, but at the same time it’s so much more than that. 

_ They’d been walking down the street, passing by an international food fair, when Adrian had stopped in his tracks and inhaled deeply. Daegan had kept walking but Adrian’s hand around his own, pulled him back.  _

_ “What is it?” _

_ Adrian groaned, “Fuuuuck, I miss her cooking.” _

_ Daegan sighed quietly and squeezed Adrian’s hand. The Her in his sentence had definitely been about his mom. He’d mentioned bits and pieces about her before but always strayed away from using the word “Mom”.  Daegan knew enough about their strained relationship that he’d never talk about it unless Adrian brought her up first. He wanted to offer to go to the food fair but then Adrian had started walking again and it was clear he was done talking about it.  _

So that’s where Daegan found himself a few days ago. He’d decided to make a Persian soup; he wasn’t sure what exact things Adrian’s mom used to cook for him so he chose the dish that would probably offer the most comfort...and also be the easiest to cook. He knew Adrian was expecting to be at the warehouse all day today, so he went grocery shopping after Adrian left. 

Prep hadn’t taken as long as he’d worried it might’ve, and now with everything in the pot, he just stands back and waits for it all to cook. It smells intense in a way that reminds him he’s never had proper Persian cuisine before, which then causes some anxiety to pop up because what if Adrian hates it? What if it looks like Daegan just half-assed everything and it’s an insult? 

Daegan shakes those thoughts loose. They’ve been officially together for long enough that this isn’t a dumb move. He snorts at the thought that his handler, Vasha, would absolutely think it’s a dumb move. He’s infiltrated Gammon’s warehouse and personal life enough that something like cooking his mother’s food to make him happy is unnecessary and is strictly for Daegan’s pleasure. He already doesn’t regret it though, making his boyfriend happy makes him fucking happy and after how long this case has gone on for, he deserves it.

With the lines between personal and professional so blurry, Daegan spends very little time actually fighting himself anymore. He knows who he is underneath the cover of Rowan and doesn’t need another speech from Vasha about how he might be in too deep. Not much is an act anymore anyways, outside of his name and his real job, there isn’t much he fakes with Gammon. 

A slow smile creeps across his features when he remembers how Adrian had left that morning; lots of sleepy kisses against his shoulder as they snuggled in bed, Adrian mumbling about how much he just wanted to stay there all day because “fuck work, I’d rather fuck you”. Daegan had laughed and yawned out a “but you gotta go in”, only to get squeezed around his middle with more exaggerated groans pushed into his hair. Adrian had finally given up and gave a quick, clothed grind against Daegan’s ass before making his way to the bathroom. Just as a reminder of what he’d be missing. 

Daegan hears the front door open and he nearly gut checks himself into the kitchen island in his rush to get to the foyer; he wants to see the look on Adrian’s face when he smells the soup. 

Adrian hip checks the door closed and sighs loudly in obvious relief when he sees Rowan. He flips up his aviators and Rowan is in his arms immediately. 

“Long day?” Daegan asks, his words getting muffled by Adrian’s chest. 

“Stupid fucking long. I missed you today, sugar.” 

That term of endearment always warms Daegan through, so he’s blushing when he pulls back, “I made a special dinner.” He looks up at Adrian and feels proud at the hint of surprise in his expression. 

“A special dinner?” Adrian quirks a brow and grins, “I figured I’d be taking you upstairs for my own  _ special dinner _ and we’d order thai or something later.” He gives Rowan a lascivious once over and adds, “ _ Much _ later.”

It’s a quick battle with himself before Daegan shakes his head, “No, I worked really hard on it and I’m nervous about it.”

Adrian laughs, “Why would you be nervous? Nothing smells burnt!” He throws his arm around Rowan’s shoulders and steers him towards the kitchen. They get to the archway of the kitchen and Adrian stops dead.

The smell of tomatoes and beans and turnips fill the space even more than they had earlier. Even a whiff of the toasted rice hangs around as well. Adrian has stopped moving so Daegan turns to make sure he’s okay, “Babe?”

“Did you make Aash Shalgham?” Adrian asks quietly.

Daegan can’t help but beam at the fact that, by smell alone, Adrian recognizes it. He nods and tucks an arm around Adrian’s waist. “Last week you mentioned that you missed Persian home cooking, so I thought I’d give it a try!” He specifically leaves out “Your mom’s cooking” because he knows better. But he barely gets through the sentence: “It smells pretty good, hey?” before Adrian is no longer by his side and apparently no longer in the room. The front door slams and Daegan is left slack-jawed, all alone in the kitchen. 

A vicious parade of thoughts speeds through his brain; doing this had been insulting or Adrian was so unbelievably angry or  _ christ _ it was too intimate of a gesture or...or…  _ Fuck.  _ Daegan falls against the kitchen island and slips to the ground. It had been a stupid, stupid fucking thing to do. Adrian will dump him and all of his hard work will go out the window and he’ll be fucked. He will have proven Vasha right.  _ Fuck, fuck, FUCK. _ Tears start to cloud his vision as he pushes himself up and hastily pulls the soup off the stove and all but shoves it in the fridge with a towel beneath it to make sure the shelf doesn’t melt. He considers packing his shit up and leaving, but then where would he even go? Back to his alias’ shitty apartment? Even then, he couldn’t just stroll back into work on Monday as if none of this had happened. 

Daegan looks around the achingly empty kitchen, he still can’t pinpoint why Adrian stormed out. His arms wrap around himself without him being aware of it.  _ How could I have fucked this up? _ He chews on his lip and decides to go upstairs. He won’t leave, he’ll wait for Adrian to come home. He  _ has _ to come home sometime. 

At least an hour passes before Daegan even hears another sound in the house. It’s the front door and his heart leaps into his throat. He’s hugging himself in their bed, tears already dried and his back to the door. He doesn’t want to look too eager and really,  _ really _ doesn’t want to look Adrian in the eyes if he’s only come home to kick him out. 

The bedroom door opens and Adrian hesitates in the threshold. He clears his throat gruffly. 

“I’m awake.” Daegan answers, his voice more quiet than normal. He listens as Adrian walks towards him, but he stops beside him, apparently waiting for something. Daegan is about to be snarky but Adrian’s question beats him to the punch. 

“Why are you here?” Adrian’s voice is uncharacteristically quiet. 

Daegan pushes himself up and sits up, still not fully facing his boyfriend. When he feels the bed dip beside him, he can’t help but look over at Adrian. He’d assumed the question was a rude one, but one look at Adrian hunched over, not looking at him, makes Daegan reconsider his answer. “What do you mean?”

Adrian looks up at the door, stone-faced. “Why are you here... _with_ _me_?”

_ Oh. _ Daegan slides a hand over Adrian’s arm, “I’m here with you because I lo-...care about you...a lot.” He files away his almost use of the L-word for later. “You just, I mean you seemed like you wanted to have some persian food, and I know it wouldn’t be as good as  _ hers _ , but I just- I just wanted you to have something that makes you happy.” He squeezes Adrian’s bicep. “Cuz that would make  _ me _ happy.”

A humourless chuckle leaves Adrian’s mouth. “Making me happy, makes you happy, hey?”

“Of course it does!” Daegan answers a little indignantly. He crawls behind Adrian and wraps his arms around his shoulders. “I’m sorry if it was too much.” He whispers against Adrian’s skin. “I know she’s not an easy subject,” he adds more for himself than his boyfriend. 

Adrian shakes his head. “I just got overwhelmed.” He kisses Rowan’s hand. “I haven’t smelled that since she made it for me last time and that was years ago.” Silence settles between them. He kisses Rowan’s hand again. “I’m sorry I left. I just- I’m not used to someone...like you.” He turns to face Rowan. 

Daegan leans forward and presses his lips against Adrian’s. “I’ll take that as a compliment.” He’ll also happily take an overwhelmed Adrian over an angry one.

As they pull away, Adrian grabs Rowan’s chin with his thumb and forefinger and looks him right in the eye. “You should.” With another kiss, Adrian stands up and walks back towards the door. “I’ll be right back.”

Daegan can’t help but smile. He gets off the bed and tugs on his pyjama pants and gets back into bed. A few minutes pass and he hears Adrian cursing at himself as he comes back up the stairs. “You okay?” He calls out.

“Fuck, it’s hot!” Adrian curses as he comes back into the bedroom. He’s got two bowls wrapped in a single towel and based on the steam and the way he keeps cursing, the contents must be scalding. “Bunch up the blanket there.” Adrian nods to Rowan’s lap, before he puts the bowl down. He knee walks over the mattress to his own spot and sits down. “Sorry I didn’t eat it before.”

“I’m just happy you’re eating it now.” Daegan smiles, giving it a stir. “I’m sorry if it doesn’t taste good though.”

Adrian blows on a big spoonful and groans loudly when he finally tastes it. “Fuuuck me, this is good.”

“Really? You're not just saying that?”

“Sweetheart,  I'm serious, this is almost as good as hers.” 

Daegan grins and snuggles up against Adrian, before they both start to eat in earnest. Pride filters through him every time his boyfriend makes a pleased sound. 

Once the bowls are stacked on the bedside table, Adrian joins him under the covers, arms wrapped around his waist. Daegan smiles as he kisses the tip of Adrian's nose.

Adrian snorts and pulls Rowan closer. “Thank you for dinner, sweetheart.” His eyes look away for all of a moment. “and I'm sorry I left like that. I just didn't understand what to do.”

Daegan cups Adrian’s face, “You came home and that's what matters.” He doesn't miss the softening of Adrian's features when he calls this house,  _ home _ . They lean in for a kiss that stays at a relaxed pace; this isn't the time for lust, or heat, it's a time for comfort and right now, nothing is more comfortable than being in each other's arms. 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Btw, this was the recipe I looked at for inspiration! https://persianmama.com/aash-shalgham/


End file.
